In the aftermath of the Jeffrey Epstein affair, government authorities allegedly notified Prince Andrew that his £3 million-a-year armed police guards will be cut beginning in December. This apparently left the prince seething.
Prince Andrew (right) is understood to be furious about the decision and is set to complain to the Home Office
As a member of the working royal family, Prince Andrew was entitled to a taxpayer-funded security detail consisting of armed police officers who accompanied him on all travels outside of Windsor, Berkshire.
But the decision to deprive the prince of his formal responsibilities in January indicated that there are no plans for him to return as a senior royal, and the newest development suggests that Andrew will face a far stronger position from Charles than he did from the Queen.
This was the result of the revelation of his acquaintance with child molester Jeffrey Epstein and the catastrophic Newsnight interview in which he denied sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre.
It follows his withdrawal from public life in 2019 as allegations by Virginia Giuffre came to light, along with details of his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
Prince Andrew (right) is reportedly incensed by the decision and intends to lodge a formal complaint with the Home Office.
It follows his departure from public life in 2019 when charges by Virginia Giuffre and details of his association with child molester Jeffrey Epstein came to light.
The projected annual cost to the public for providing armed security for the prince is around £3 million.
Prince Andrew will now lose his armed police guards, which cost the taxpayer £3 million a year
Andrew is believed to be protesting about the decision to the Metropolitan Police Department and the Home Office, since the move would force him to forego armed security or finance it privately.
A source informed the Sun on Sunday that he intends to protest to the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police over losing his taxpayer-funded protection.
In January, the disgraced royal was stripped of all his formal responsibilities by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Andrew (left) is understood to have been given a ‘dressing down’ by his older brother Charles (right) just days before their mother’s death
In 2019, Prince Andrew resigned from public life due to his relationship with the millionaire child molester Jeffrey Epstein.
In January, he was removed of his honorary military positions, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and had to abandon his HRH style in public.
Epstein, who recruited hundreds of vulnerable young girls into his sex trafficking network over a thirty-year period with the help of British socialite Ghislane Maxwell, was a personal friend of the Duke and once stayed in his New York home.
During his catastrophic Newsnight interview, Andrew revealed that Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, introduced them in 1999.
The Duke stated that they would meet up to three times each year.
Prince Andrew’s armed police guards, which cost the government £3 million a year, have been eliminated.
He acknowledged that he entertained Epstein and Maxwell at Sandringham in December 2000 for a “simple shooting weekend” and that he stayed in Epstein’s New York house in 2010 when he visited to sever connections with the child molester.
In 2019, Epstein committed suicide in a New York jail before being tried for sex trafficking.
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June for recruiting adolescent females for Epstein to abuse.
This year, Andrew, 62, failed in his attempt to dismiss a civil case in the United States filed by Virginia Giuffre, Epstein’s former’sex slave’ who claimed she was forced to have sex with the Duke.
The Duke fiercely refuted her charges, but at the time, Buckingham Palace stated that the late Queen took the decision to deprive Andrew of his titles.
It was believed that both the then-Prince of Wales Charles and Prince William enthusiastically supported this.
It is believed that Andrew (left) was reprimanded by his older brother Charles (right) days before their mother’s death.
The Duke hoped that by settling the legal lawsuit in February for a reported £12 million without conceding culpability, he could return to his royal duties.
The decision to remove his police protection, however, is the most recent indication that King Charles would take a tough stand against Andrew’s demands.
It was widely rumored that the disgraced royal had lobbied his late mother for a return to royal life, and it was revealed earlier this month that he had to be ‘dressed down’ by Charles days before his mother’s death.
A source told the Daily Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle column that Charles had been informed by the Queen’s top aides that Andrew’s “persistent lobbying” of the sick queen to restore him as a “working royal” was “taking its toll.”
The future king made it obvious to Andrew during their encounter on his Scottish estate Birkhall that he would never return to royal responsibilities.
Charles also pointed out to his brother that it would be difficult to find a charity that would accept him as a patron if he was ever returned to his position.
Last night, a senior Labour MP stated, ‘He doesn’t seem to realize that he’s in shame and that people don’t want to hear from him – especially with his begging bowl.
I am aware that he holds a title, but it does not entitle him to taxpayer-funded protection. I know families who are uncertain if they will be able to afford Christmas gifts for their children this year.
Previously, a source told the Daily Mail, ‘However naive it may sound, he always hoped to restore his position as a senior Royal.
‘At the meeting, Prince Charles informed him that he is free to live a good life, a pleasant one, but that his public existence as a Royal is over. He was informed, “You must accept this.”
Prince Andrew’s representatives declined to comment.